


what do we say to lord death? (not today)

by atypicalsnowman



Category: Avengers: Endgame - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, Fix-It, Gen, Not on my watch, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 12:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18620227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atypicalsnowman/pseuds/atypicalsnowman
Summary: Very quick fix-it to the end of Avengers: Endgame.  Any more tags or summary and it would be a spoiler.  If you've seen the movie you know what about the ending needed fixing.





	what do we say to lord death? (not today)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in years. It's unbetaed but I wanted to get this out before I go see Endgame again.

“Mr. Stark, we won.” 

Stephen stayed a good distance away while he watched Peter and Tony’s family gather closely around him. He wanted to approach. He wanted to apologize, wanted to tell Tony there really had been no other way. That he’d searched and searched because he knew it wasn’t fair to him. That no one man should have to take on the burden of saving the entire universe.

But after searching the timelines, after watching the end of all things fourteen million times, Stephen was left with the truth. Life wasn’t fair.

“Tony, don’t go.”

Stephen closed his eyes. He’d already watched this on Titan. He could hear the sounds of Pepper Potts in her Rescue armor cautiously approaching. He knew that if he opened his eyes he’d be forced to see Tony’s bloodied and burnt body, and see the people he loved slowly realize what was about to happen.

“Friday?” 

“Life signs critical.”

Somewhere in the distance he heard the stomp of boots, the shuffling of bodies as some made way for another. Stephen remembered this too and then he felt Wong brush against him. He was warm, and he didn’t think Wong would mind if he let their shoulders brush together. Anything to get him through this next part.

“Tony, look at me.” Stephen looked up then, only briefly. Only long enough to see the damage, to see the pain on Tony’s face. Out of the corner of his eye he saw people continue to shuffle but tuned it out. Tony was dying right in front of him, and Stephen was the one who had orchestrated it.

“We’re going to be okay. You can rest now.”

He held back a sob. Back on Titan he remembered thinking Pepper Potts must have been made of steel, stronger than any person he’d ever known. Standing there, silently asking comfort from Wong, unable to even watch the scene unfold, he knew she was far stronger than he could ever be.  
Because this is where he’d stopped watching. 

After seeing Thanos and his army destroyed, after witnessing Tony’s death, Stephen had come out of his trance. It had been a shock to go from watching Tony fade right in front of him to seeing him whole and asking after Stephen’s well being on Titan.

Stephen was fine. Stephen and everyone else who was destroyed in the decimation would be fine. But Tony wouldn’t be.

His head suddenly felt far too heavy, shame and grief overwhelming him, and he felt Wong wrap an arm around his shoulders. 

There was absolute silence and then that sound of boots on gravel.

“No,” a voice said, softly but firm. “Not one more.”

Stephen opened his eyes to see Carol Danvers standing in front of Tony and Pepper. She bent down and pried the Reality Stone from Tony’s gauntlet, then clutched it in her hand. 

“Not one more. Not today,” she said, and her eyes and fist glowed red. She lifted her closed hand, grunting and straining and Stephen watched as her body buckled as the power of an infinity stone coursed through her.

Then everything went red.

It was possible. Stephen hadn’t looked this far into the future. He’d stopped after he saw Tony die, unwilling to see the scene in front of him for even one more second. But with the power of reality in the hand of superhuman with god-like powers…Stephen held his breath for one second, two…

A loud gasp and then the light from Carol’s hand faded. 

He couldn’t look. A weight sat heavy on his chest and he couldn’t turn his head, couldn’t face the idea of Carol’s effort failing.

“What just happened? Did somebody kiss me? Oh. Please say it was you.”

Stephen looked just in time for Pepper to start laughing through heavy tears. She threw herself into Tony’s arms and wept and laugh and Stephen found himself joining her.

“Mr. Stark? What just happened?” Peter asked, and Rhodes wrapped an arm around him in a tight embrace.

“Oh, God…” Rhodes whispered, tears following down his face, his smile wide and unbelieving. 

“No, me.” Danvers pulled the rest of the stones off of Tony’s gauntlet and smiled at Peter. “But thanks, I’ll take it as a compliment.” She leaned down to where Pepper and Tony still sat curled around each other, happy and still unbelieving. “I think I remember you from Life Magazine.” She smiled and ruffled his hair. “You were a cute kid. See you around, Tony Stark.”

“Wait, what—hang on, really, what just happened? Is she taking the stones? She’s taking the stones. Will someone please call her back and tell her she can’t just take the stones. We have to—“

Tony was cut off by Peter rushing him, pushing him to the ground with the force of his embrace. 

“Mr. Stark, I was so worried, I thought for sure you were going to die and then it looked like you were definitely going to die and then Miss Potts said you could rest now and I didn’t know what she meant but it looked like you were gone and then everyone was crying and then that nice lady took the stone—“

Stephen couldn’t help himself. It might have been five years for everyone else, but he still felt responsible for Peter after Titan. 

“Peter, let him breathe.”

Peter stood up and Tony and Pepper looked his way.

“Oh, hey Gandalf. Good job. Looks like we saved the day,” Tony said with a smile. His face and body were whole, and he looked happy. “Is this it? This was the one future where we won?”

Stephen swallowed and he knew he was betraying himself by the way Tony’s face fell. Wong squeezed him a little tighter and he as he rasped, “You saved the day, Tony. And yes, of course.”

“You sure? Cause you should see your face right now.”

Stephen shook his head. “I never doubted you for a second. But I am sorry for all—“

Tony put up a hand. “Don’t be sorry. I got it so much better than most people.” He looked at Pepper. “Who’s watching Morgan?”

“Happy,” she cried, smiling. 

“We need to introduce her to Peter. But first…” He stood with a groan, allowing Pepper to help him stand up. “I’m starving.”

Stephen smiled, wiping away the last of his tears as he saw the little family he thought he was condemning to grief walk away towards the remains of the compound.

“Hey, Strange!” 

Stephen looked up.

“You coming?” Tony asked, his hand in Pepper’s, Rhodes and Peter looking at him expectantly. 

“I could go for a ham and Swiss, Stephen,” Wong said, breaking Stephen’s pause.

“Yes,” Stephen said, smiling as he and Wong joined them, “I’m coming.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so this is my very first fit in about eight years or so. My last experience writing in a fandom left a bad taste in my mouth and then the job I had for eight years left me drained and exhausted and with no creative impulses whatsoever. 
> 
> But my life is so different now! I don't want to promise myself that I'll be prolific but I'm really hoping that I can get back into this again.
> 
> Also: I love Tony Stark. Present tense. I understand why Marvel wrote his ending the way they did, and if I'm being honest with myself it was a really good fucking end. He died saving the entire universe. There is no greater hero. 
> 
> But that doesn't mean we can't fix it for him.


End file.
